Celebrating Black Women in Philanthropy

Pivotal Ventures

Founded by Melinda French Gates, Pivotal accelerates social progress via Pivotal Ventures and Pivotal Philanthropies.

Published Aug 25, 2025

Philanthropy didn’t start in institutions—it started in homes. Long before there were charitable foundations and nonprofits, households were the place where generosity took root and spread throughout the community. For Black communities, giving back has an especially rich cultural legacy, with knowledge and wisdom passed down through generations as a means of both collective care and survival.

Teresa C. Younger, CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women, knows firsthand how powerful this legacy is—and how it’s laid the groundwork for modern philanthropy. In this conversation with Celiné Justice, who leads Pivotal’s work to support women and girls of color, Teresa reflects on where voices like hers are most needed right now, how ancestral wisdom can help us understand how movements work, and what we all gain when women of color lead critical conversations about social progress.

➡️ Learn more about the Ms. Foundation’s work to build women’s collective power in the U.S.

➡️ Learn more about Pivotal’s Centering Women and Girls of Color strategy.

Guy Daneck

Owner of Saint Patricia of Chicago Catholic Store. Owner of “Guy’s All-Night Diner” Feline Shelter.

Correct, and all of our ancestral women that came before us were the main staples of families in historical times with raising children, farming, cooking, and other chores of the home...so fast forward to modern times in the workforce, that those same women can easily run companies, industries, and have government leadership roles, just because they were skillfully meant to be there as heads of their households, and now heads of their careers! 🐱 🥛